A Foolish Hope
by Hay Of The Meadow
Summary: It was a foolish hope, but a hope nonetheless. It was the only beacon of color in this gray world without Wally. Because... Wally was gone.
1. Prologue

All was peaceful in the world for once. None of the usual super villains had decided to run amok tonight, giving their superhero counterparts a much-needed rest. The cities were buzzing with their usual noises: cars honking, electricity crackling through power lines, TVs humming with their laughter and talking with all the usual shows. It was almost too quiet… Like the calm before a storm.

Compared to the other world, this world was in complete disarray. One of the most prominent and well-known superheroes, for lack of a better word, died. Wally West, 21, better known as Kid Flash and Fastest Teen Alive (Well, you know what I mean), had faded into nothingness, quite literally, in one of the noblest ways possible; saving the world. Everywhere, people were grieving: his parents, aunt and uncle, his lovely girlfriend, his best friend, and all of the heroes of the Justice League and Team. Not to mention the thousands of fans and people whose lives he had touched. It was much more silent in this world than in the other. It was as if the world was in denial, that it was holding its breath, waiting for the return of one Kid Flash. It was a hope shared by only three other people: Artemis, his lovely girlfriend and the hero now known as Tigress; Dick Grayson, the hero known as Nightwing; and his loving mentor and uncle, Barry Allen, the Flash. It was a foolish hope, but it was the only beacon of color in this gray world without Wally. All the others said he was gone forever, that he was dead.

But between you and me, in reader-writer confidentiality, they're wrong. Because what kind of story would we have if they weren't?

* * *

"_Tell her… I love her…"_

And with those final words, he vanished…

* * *

**A/N: Yay! New Story! Let's just say that I am very angry at the writers and producers that make Young Justice. So this is what I want to happen! And Abby... I'm joining you on your vow. Anybody else want to, it that we will never watch YJ again if in the next season does not hint at Wally's survival within the first 2 episodes. So... Yeah. I'll update... Eventually. Teehee.**


	2. Chapter 1

Emerald eyes snapped open. Wally's face was lying in something wet and white. After a few moments, he recognized it as snow, and he briefly wondered why he wasn't cold. His brain suddenly seared with a bright white flash, following up with bright colors dancing across his eyes. He felt the sensation of falling down, and then remembered what had happened. He jumped nearly three feet in the air, whipping his head around, looking for his teammates and girlfriend.

"Artemis! Artemis! Nightwing! Barry!" he shouted, hoping for a response.

But nobody answered. Wally was alone. He began wondering if he was still in the Arctic, or if he had appeared in some random, snow-filled place. Wally suddenly decided that it would be better if went and _saw_ his girlfriend, instead of wondering where he was. He hadn't taken two steps when he heard:

"THIS IS S.H.I.E.L.D.! PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM AND WALK SLOWLY TOWARDS OUR AGENTS!"

The yellow-and-red spandex-clad hero glanced around as he finally noticed he was surrounded while searching for the source of the voice. His quick eyes had noticed the small distortion about 75 feet above him. Seeing as this 'Shield' didn't recognize him, his speedster brain almost immediately flashed "BAD GUYS" in neon red. ('Cause, you know, he's _Wally_.) Wally smirked.

"As much as I'd love to stick around…"

That statement was interrupted by a bullet, which he nimbly dodged. The smirk slid off his face faster than a speedster slipping on ice from Captain Cold's freeze gun. _They did _not_ just go there,_ Wally thought to himself. He _hated_ guns with a passion, especially after the time Nightwing (he was Robin back then) got shot in the chest.

Of course, this all happened in a span of five seconds before the rest of the 'Shield' goons decided it was alright to continue shooting at him.

"You mess with the bull…" Kid Flash spoke aloud as he happily beat up the thugs.

Less than thirty seconds later, the yellow and red blur that was Kid Flash stopped moving. Around him were the 12 men that he previously knocked out. Wally grinned as he finished the saying:

"You get the horns."

Wally looked up again as the crackle of a microphone shot through the air. He decided it would be better to go before 'Shield' sent in more 'agents' that he had to dispose of. Or fire a huge laser at him. Whichever worked.

As he sped off, the tail end of a few colorful words reached his ears. The smile grew into quite the maniacal grin as he tried very not to burst out laughing and fall in the water he was currently running over.

* * *

Director Nick Fury was in shock. Their sensors had picked up readings scarily close to the Tesseract, and he had sent a good 15 agents to check out the location. Why 15 you ask? Fury was extremely paranoid, especially after the Chitauri invasion a week ago. When it came to the Tesseract, you could never be too careful.

So when he discovered that there was a person in the Arctic where the readings came from, he was immediately suspicious. He was wondering, first of all, _why was there a person in the Arctic?_ and second of all, _why the _heck _was he wearing spandex?!_ Fury ordered his agents to catch and contain the spandex - er… man (?) for interrogation.

Of course, you could imagine his surprise when the being (man? mutant? alien?) started moving at the speed of sound. And then he proceeded to beat up 12 SHIELD agents surrounding him, taking off across the ocean when he was done. But the thing that unnerved him the most was that he seemed to be staring straight at the plane before he noticed the agents around him. The team leaders swore up and down that they had the reflective plates on, so he shouldn't be able to see them. This only unnerved Fury more.

The Director of SHIELD sighed. He had a feeling he was going to get _a lot_ of headaches soon…

***The same time as when Wally appeared***

Professor Charles Xavier was searching for more new mutants on Cerebro, when he detected a strange reading from the Arctic. The professor turned his attention to the north, and was silent as he observed the energy-bearer beat up what appeared to be twelve highly-trained SHIELD agents… And then run off… _All at the speed of sound!? _Of course the professor was confused. Super-speed could only be a mutant power… Then why didn't he read as a mutant?

* * *

Doctor Steven Strange was meditating. As the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, he meditated every day to focus his mind and control his powers, because it wouldn't do for them to go off at some random moment, would it?

But this meditation was different. The doctor (No, not _that_ Doctor) could sense… a strange energy… coming from… the Arctic?

Suddenly, he gasped and fell out of his position. He crashed to the floor (he was floating) as his sidekick/butler Wu rushed into the room.

"What is it, Doctor?" he asked. "Why did you fall?"

The Sorcerer Supreme answered weakly.

"Someone has opened a dimensional portal…"

* * *

Tony Stark, a.k.a. "Iron Man" was fixing the newly dubbed "Avengers' Tower". After it was trashed a week ago, he and Pepper Potts, his girlfriend and CEO of Stark Industries, had been fixing it.

He had just set up a new wall-support when his computers dinged. He had set up the Tesseract radar in hopes of picking up readings when Thor came back, but this reading was slightly different. And it was… coming from the Arctic? Why would the Tesseract show up_ there _of all places?

"Pepper!" he called out.

"Yeah, Tony?"

"There's something I need to check out."

"Where? And as Tony Stark or Iron Man?"

"The Arctic. And Iron Man!"

"Be careful! And be back soon! I can't rebuild this tower by myself y'hear!"

"Yes Mother!" he called back cheekily, before running out onto the walkway to change and escape Pepper.

Pepper watched out the window as Tony took off in the blue afternoon sky.

* * *

**Yes! I am back! I have finally gained access to this stupid computer! But on another note... I am currently working on Chapter 2! Yay! I am also happy I have reached over 1000 words in 1 chapter! Not to mention 10 reviews... *Happy dance* To be quite frank, I'm kinda surprised I got this done in under an hour... (My brother is watching Tom and Jerry...)  
**

Abby: She gets distracted easily...

**Abby! I do NOT!**

***silence***

**Okay... Maybe a LITTLE bit...**

*Abby raises her eyebrows*

**UGH! OKAY! I do a lot... Like that one time where I some how got into a conversation about... **

Abby: My point exactly.

**Cough, cough... Anyways... Ooo! Shiny! *Runs off in chase of tin foil***

Abby: Anyways... See you next week! Or not... It really depends on when Hay gets off her butt and writes and/or types...

**Pant, pant... Okay, I'm back. That tin foil wasn't really shiny in the first place... Oh, OH! Before I forget! I don't own Young Justice or Avengers or anything else you might recognize! And I could really use some advice on Doctor Strange... My source of info is a comic book and Super Hero Squad show... Thanks and Bye!**


	3. Chapter 2

Kid Flash decided to head to the Hall of Justice first. That would be the most likely place for everyone to gather, right? Unless they were at the Watchtower. But Wally would have to go to the 'Tower anyway, so it was obviously the best choice. "And I better hurry too," Wally murmured as his stomach growled. He suddenly stopped as he passed New York. Why was it so… trashed?

"And an even better question: where the heck did that huge tower come from?!" he nearly shrieked as he stared at Avengers' Tower. Not that he knew that, of course. "How long was I gone?" With no better way to check the date, Wally sped towards the nearest newsstand.

* * *

Tony stared at the mess that was a bunch of SHIELD agents. He slowly descended into the chaos, landing next to what looked like a much frazzled Maria Ross.

"What happened here?" the inventor demanded/asked.

"We aren't completely sure…" she replied uncertainly. She answered her ear-comm-thingy before Tony could comment. "Yes… No, we don't know where… Yes… He's right here… I'll tell him… Yes, Sir." Ross turned back to the man in the suit. "Fury wants you and the Avengers to gather at the Helicarrier for a briefing."

"What—"

"I don't know. But the Director sounded angry."

* * *

"Logan, Ororo. I need you to collect a young man. He is currently in New York, in Manhattan." Logan grunted.

"Another mutant?"

"No. His energy signature did not read mutant. But he is… strange. I would like to speak with him. I would go right now, before he leaves again."

Storm spoke up. "What does he look like?"

Professor Xavier smiled. "He has red hair, and is wearing red and yellow. I think you will know him when you see him."

Logan grunted again. "Come on, Storm. "

* * *

"No, no, NO!" Nightwing growled and slammed his hands against his keyboard that was connected to the computer of his frustrations. He sighed and realized that he almost broke his computer… again. Wally had been missing for just over a week, and in that time, he had almost broken the computer tower, screen, and keyboard a total of 9 times. Nightwing slowly scooted the chair closer to the screen, once more hoping to find what the energy signal was that they picked up in the Arctic.

He felt a slight breeze as Barry entered the room.

"Hello, Barry," he said as he stared at the screen.

"Anything new, Dick?" Barry asked hopefully. Dick sighed again.

"No, only dead-end after dead-end," he said as he resisted the urge to punch the computer screen. Dick scooted over as Barry looked closer at the screen.

"Hmmm… The energy spike…" He gasped softly. Dick looked at the blond speedster sharply, his Bat-trained instincts noting the color draining from his face. He asked:

"What is it?" He could tell that Barry was panicking when he started to hyperventilate and vibrate. "Barry…?" Dick's voice rose as he tried to get the speedster's attention. "Barry! Stop it! You'll break my computer!" THAT stopped him. "What is it…?" Dick asked quietly.

Barry, panicked, accidentally answered in "Speederish", also known as gibberish.

"—!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, Barry! I'm used to Wally, and even I couldn't understand that!"

Barry took a deep breath and slowed down to an understandable pace.

"The energy signal… I think I've seen it before." Dick didn't understand.

"Elaborate please." He took another deep breath.

"Wally… I think… IthinkheenteredtheSpeedForce!"

* * *

"The heck!?"

Wally was shocked. What other reaction when you not _only have_ traveled back in time _six years_, but there was an alien invasion… A _week_ ago!

Wally obviously didn't remember any 'Chitauri' invasion when he was sixteen, so there were only two explanations:

He was crazy, and was now in a mental hospital, with the strait jacket and the padded room, and everything.

OR…

He was in a different dimension.

Wally really hoped it was the second option. That would really suck if he was crazy.

_CRASH! BOOM!_

"HA! YA MISSED ME!"

Wally looked to the end of the alley where he saw a red-blue-dressed-man swinging on a string and being chased by a robot. _Wait… What?! _

_SNAP!_

The robot swung its arm forward in attempt to murder the swinging-man. He missed and hit the string instead. Wally reacted without thinking and caught the swinging-man, running down the street away from the mad-killing-robot.

Kid Flash stopped down the street, and the red-swinging-man stumbled out of his arms.

"_Dude!"_ he slurred, "Wha' wuz tha'?" Wally shrugged.

"Ahh… It takes some getting used to. It was just me running." He was already distracted by his thoughts on his speed. Mostly: _Why did I go so fast so easily? _

* * *

Spiderman looked at the… er… yellow-man? Bolt? in confusion. He had never seen the guy before. And why did he catch him?

"Uh… Who are you? What do you want?" Yellow-man frowned.

"Hmm… Guess that proves my theory. If this was a made-up world in my head, you'd definitely know who I was!" He laughed. Spiderman was still confused.

"What theory? Why would I know you?" he asked suspiciously. Yellow stopped laughing and pointed.

"Uhh… Weren't you fighting a giant-mad-killing-robot?" Spiderman turned around and swore. In his head. Spiderman swore in his head because Spiderman is a superhero, and superheroes don't swear. He had temporarily forgotten the robot in the Mystery of the Yellow-Man!

"Stay here." And he shot his web and started climbing the robot. (Who, by this time, was almost down the street.)

* * *

Wally was not always the best at following orders. So when the Spider (Wally saw it on his costume.) ordered him to stay put, he immediately disregarded him and sped off. Towards the robot of course, where else would he go?

"I wish Nightwing or Supey were here," he mumbled. "Then I wouldn't have to deal with this guy." He was currently trying to strip away the robot's legs by speeding passed it. Not that is was working, of course. Wally could tell that Spider wasn't very pleased with him when he joined the fight, but that quickly changed when he proved to be experienced. By *cough* saving his life… again. Not that Spider would ever admit that… But I'm digressing.

Wally was starting to get annoyed by the robot. The stupid thing would. Not. Stop! There was always Plan B, but Wally really didn't want a bloody nose. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures!

"Hey! Spider-Guy!"

"Spider-Guy?" 'Spider-Guy' looked away from the robot to look at him incredulously. At least, that's what Wally thought. It was kind of hard with the mask.

"Yeah? So? You expect me to come up with something better on short notice?"

"But really? Spider-Guy?"

"_Anyways…_ Could you like, hold him for… five seconds? I want to try something."

"Uh, sure? Five seconds is kind of stretching it!"

"Whatever! 'Kay. Thanks. Bye!" Wally sped off to explode the robot's legs. And maybe (hopefully not) get a bloody nose.

* * *

When Storm and Wolverine landed in Manhattan, they could tell something was wrong. Maybe it was the loud crashes and booms that tipped them off. Maybe not. They expected to see someone, maybe Spiderman or one of the Avengers most likely, trying to stop it. Logan growled at the thought of stopping a giant robot.

What they _hadn't _expected was Spiderman looking in between the robot and a kid in amazement. With the robot's head, arms, and legs looking short-circuiting and/or destroyed. And the kid looking proud/amazed at his hands. And also dressed… in red and yellow… spandex… with _red _hair.

_Well,_ Storm thought, _the Professor was right. We _would_ recognize him on sight._

* * *

***slam* *slam* *slam* *headdesking* Hi. You have permission to come after me with pitch forks. I know, I should have updated, but... *cough* I may have had my internet taken away... for a week... and before that... I was just too lazy... So... Yeah. Now I have to go work on Chapter 3...**

**P.s. To the movie companies: STOP MAKING MOVIES I WANT TO SEE DARNITT! I just saw Iron Man 3 last night, and... AGHHHH! So. Many. Trailers... $0.0$ So.. Yeah.**

**P.p.s. Does anybody know the bad guy's name? It's like... Killian ... Something. I don't remember. TeeHee.**


	4. Chapter 3

**EDIT 6-26-13: Sorry. I went back and fixed all the g's. Stupid key is being stupid. I feel so embarressed right now... **

Chapter 3: We're Off To See The Professor! ...Not

Wally's brain registered that two people were approaching, it just didn't... sink in. He was to busy being amazed._ I actually did it!_ he thought._ I actually vibrated my molecules through something! _Without_ a bloody nose!_

A throat clearing shook him from his thoughts, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Spider jumping. Wally's attention focused on the two in front of him. One was a rough-looking man with black hair parted down the middle and the rest pointed into two spikes on either side, (with MASSIVE sideburns, Wally noted.) and the other, an African woman with white hair. He named them 'Burns and Snowy.

He took this in within two seconds, right as Snowy started speaking.

"Would you come with us? The professor would like to see you." Her tone was polite, but Burns just grunted. Her question immediately put Wally on guard. Why would anyone want to see him? How would anyone even know he was here? Besides the obvious 'SHIELD'.

"Who are you? How did you know I was here?" Wally not-quite-demanded-but-didn't-really-ask-nicely.

"Well, I'll just be going now... Bye, I guess?" Spider trailed off, then shook his head. Wally absent-mindedly waved 'good-bye' to him as Spider shot a string and swung off. He refocused his attention to Burns and Snowy. "Well?" he prompted.

* * *

"Well?" the red-head asked. Logan saw the kid shift his weight, as if he was preparing to fight... Or run. He snorted. Not like the kid would get far. Storm sighed next to him and answered the boy. "Well, I am Ororo, and this is Logan." She gestured to him. "As for the second question, the professor sent us."

"Who is 'the professor'?" the kid put air-quotes around 'the professor'. Storm answered her again.

"Professor Charles Xavier. He is the headmaster and teaches at Xavier's School For the Gifted."

"And why would he want to see me? Frankly, why should I go with you?"

Logan growled. He stomped up to the kid and jabbed him in the chest. "Listen, Bub. I've got half a mind to knock you out" - "Logan!" - "and take you to Wheels just to get you to shut up!" The boy stepped back and gave a short laugh. "Huh. New record." Logan snarled and was about to punch him when Storm interrupted him and put a hand on his shoulder. "The professor created the school for special people like me and Logan. Like you. They call us mutants.

The boy frowned. "Mutants. Muuuuttttaaaannnnnnnttttttssss." He said slowly, as if chewing on the word. "I don't like the word. It sounds too much like "Freak"." His expression changed as something dawned on him. "Wait. Me? A mutant?" He laughed again. "Sorry, no. I'm not a mutant."

Ororo started speaking again. "It is perfectly acceptable" The boy interrupted her.

"I'm not a mutant. No, _I'm_-" here he gestured to himself, "- a _speedster_."

Logan was confused. What was the difference? The red-head continued talking, unaware of Logan's thinking. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'm okay."

Logan snorted. The kid looked at him. "What?"

"You certainly don't look okay." He looked down at himself. The kid's green eyes had bags underneath them. His hair was greasy and matted. His suit looked even dirtier and slightly ripped. To put it simply, he looked dead on his feet. Said boy laughed dryly.

"Heh. Got that right." He crossed his arms. "But still, thanks, but no thanks. For all I know, you could be scientists waiting to catch me and dissect me." The boy whirled around and took off running. Logan and Ororo's jaws dropped as he sped up until he was a yellow blur that quickly disappeared down the street.

* * *

**Wow. No pitchforks yet? Nobody's even yelling! Gah! My stupid g key! It being stubborn today... But anyway, as I was spellcheckin this, the sentence "Logan was confused." caught the computer's eye as "Passive voice" and the example it gave was literally this**:

Before: Wolverine was made to be a weapon.

After: The government made Wolverine. Wolverine is a weapon.

**I literally laughed so hard I almost woke up my Mom. **

**Ah. I forgot what I was going to say. Oh yeah! Tell me if I missed any gs, please?**

**-Hay**


	5. Chapter 4

Wally crashed somewhere in Virginia. Into a wall, because he was not paying attention, and tripped. "Owwww..." he moaned, as he poked around, looking for broken bones, and such. The only thing that hurt was his face, specifically, his nose. Wally surmised that he must have broken it, or at least, cracked it. He couldn't feel any blood running down his face, so it couldn't be too bad. Wally checked his snacks cupboard as his stomach growled again. "Score!" he cheered as he discovered 6 high-carb granola bars and a small juice box. He wolfed down two immediately, and was working on the third as he checked his supplies pocket. Hmm... an extra pair of goggles, a small clothes capsule (That he got from 'Wing. Seriously, you expect Wally to wear clothes under that spandex? No! He needs to be as light as possible to run!) and $100 cash.

_Not bad,_ Wally thought,_ but I could be more prepared. I don't have shoes for one, and I could use some more money. _But hey! Wally's not Dick or Bats, or even Tim! They probably have a contingency plan for everything! Seriously, Bat-Shark Repellent?

Wally made a mental list:

-Get home.

-Avoid SHIELD. (And any other weirdos looking for me. *cough cough* 'the professor' *cough*)

-Get food.

-Get shelter.

He quickly thought._ To avoid weirdos, I need a disguise. That means changing my clothes, maybe even dying my hair. To get food and shelter, I need money, which means job. But disguise first, then job._

Wally headed towards the nearest store where he could buy supplies, after changing clothes. His boots would have to do for now, but he hid the rest of the suit behind a dumpster in the alley where he took shelter in. When he entered the store, he quickly gathered a pair of shoes with an extra pair, a spare change of clothes, and a back pack to carry it all. Calculated how much he spent, he headed over to the grocery department to gather food. Using the leftover money, he bought more high-carb granola bars (different box but same name. Weird for alternate universes, huh?), and several bottles of water. He brought the items up to the check-out counter, where the lady looked at him quizzically. "Back packing trip," he lied, hoping he didn't look too guilty. The lady nodded, satisfied, and began chattering on about her daughter, who, by the way, back packs too, and maybe she could introduce them? Wally politely declined, and paid for his 'supplies'. As he exited the store, he overheard two men discussing the robot in Manhattan (it had been on the news, of course,) and the mysterious hero who had saved Spiderman (Ah! That's what his name was!). Wally felt his heart swell when he heard them discussing his name.

* * *

Nick Fury was, once again, confused. The mysterious being that was in the Arctic one again, showed up in New York, but this time, he helped out a known hero. But once he was approached by some mutants working in Xavier's school he fled after a short conversation. Their conversation, recorded by a nearby camera, was played over and over in his head.

_"Sorry, no. I'm not a mutant."_

_"It is perfectly acceptable-"_

_"No._ I'm_ a_ speedster_."_

Speedster? What was that? And why did he deny being a mutant?

* * *

Professor Xavier sighed. He hoped that the energy-bearer would come quietly, not flee. Not it would be that much harder to find him, as when he ran away from the Arctic, the energy he was bearing slowly faded away. By now, the energy would be almost completely gone, and he would be impossible to find. He only hoped his one of his contacts would find the boy, and convince him to talk with him. The professor sighed again, and massaged his temple. He had the feeling he was going to get a lot of head aches soon...

* * *

As the Avengers assembled, Tony could not help but be puzzled. After the events of the invasion little over a week ago, he could not help but be paranoid. For the Avengers to be called again so soon could only mean that a large threat was upon them. As Nick approached them, he could only stare at him, waiting for him to say something. Fury tossed a manila file on the table they were gathered around. It fell open, and there was only three or four photos contained in it, and they where all of a kid, with flaming red hair, and dressed in what appeared to be yellow and red spandex. "Who is this?" Tony demanded. This kid could not possibly be a threat!

Fury sighed. "We do not know. We need the Avengers to track him down, and capture the target for questioning. He is highly dangerous, so be cautious."

Tony snorted. "How could... this kid be dangerous?" He questioned. Fury only silently brought out a remote, and clicked a button, which made a screen appear. And on the screen, it showed the kid, staring straight at the camera, only to proceed to beat up the surrounding agents, and take off running, at the speed of sound, maybe even faster. The Avengers' jaws all dropped as the video continued to one of a robot, Spiderman, and the kid. The video proceeded to show the destruction of the robot, and the conversation between the two mutants that appeared, and the kid.

Tony only had one thing to say. "How is that POSSIBLE?!"

* * *

**Ahhh! Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I have glasses now! **

_That she currently is not wearing._

**Abby! Why'd you tell them that!**

_Because it's your own fault for procrastinating._

**I blame the the anime!**

_It's not FMA or Hetalia's fault that your addicted to them._

***Pouts* Traitor!**

_I thought I told you that you couldn't say that anymore!_

***Sticks out tongue* Traitor! Traitor! TRAITOR!**

_Arghhhhh! STOP THAT!_

**No.**

_Don't make me get the twins!_

**AH! NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!**

_Then hurry up and write,_ _woman!_

**Fine... Abby's right... Hopefully I'll remember.**

**Bye for now!**

**-Hay**


	6. Chapter 5

As Wally left the store, he mused where he should "hide out".

_Not somewhere well known… Maybe the West Coast somewhere? Or Canada? Somewhere near Canada? Or should I leave the country?_

Looking at a map in a gas station, Wally found the perfect place…

* * *

Not many people knew that Wally was a good cook. Hey, he had to learn _something _from Aunt Iris, and Uncle Barry was a horrible cook. How did he survive without Wally, Aunt Iris, and takeout? This came to Wally's advantage when he found a job at Cindy's Featherville Café.

* * *

"Hello, my name is Wally, and I'll be your waiter today. What would you like to drink?" The homey café was empty except for a little old lady. The lady smiled back.

"Just water, Wally. Are you new?" Wally returned with the woman's water and answered.

"Yes. Ms. Cindy is nice enough to let me stay with her while I look for some place to rent. But I can't stay there forever." He smiled. "I don't want to intrude on her hospitality."

"I could rent you a bed in my loft. It would be… $100 plus you help me cook? I'm getting old and stiff you know." She said jokingly.

"I'm sorry Miss…?"

"Gloria. Gloria Smith."

"I'm sorry Ms. Smith, but I can't accept. I need to come to work, and I eat a lot. I can't accept."

"My property is just down the road, and I can help with groceries. How about $75? Please? I need all the help I can get."

"Oh, alright. When is the rent due?"

"Oh, whenever. As long as you clean up after yourself, and it's once a month, I don't care."

"Where do you live?"

"I can show you after I eat."

"Oh! Uh, what would you like to eat?" Wally asked sheepishly.

"Just a club sandwich, Wally. And call me Gloria." Wally stood up and jotted down her order.

"Alright, I'll be back with your order, Ms. Gloria."

* * *

"Where is he?" Tony hissed as he slammed his hands down on the desk.

"Still haven't found him?" Bruce walked into the computer lab, sympathetic. Tony had been searching for several days, almost a week, without results. The last time they had spotted the target, it had been in Virginia.

"Maybe you're losing your touch." Clint commented snidely as he entered the lab also.

"I'd like to see you try," Tony shot back.

"Sure," Clint shrugged and walked over.

"Oh no. You are not touching my babies!"

"Well, why not?" This sparked an argument that went on for several minutes with Bruce trying to break them up.

_Bing._ The computer chimed softly, as Clint yelled:  
"Yeah, well, you have an ego the size of New Jersey, tin-head!"

"Don't you _dare_ compare me to NEW JERSEY!"

"Sir," Jarvis toned softly.

"WHAT!?" Tony bellowed.

"There appears to be a 72% match."

"Oh."

* * *

"Aunt Gloria!" a cheerful girl called out as she climbed the steps of the red cabin.

"Hmmm, Hay?" Gloria called from her chair. Hay reached the deck that her aunt was located on, and sat down next to her.

"Grandma and Dad are making a big batch of deviled eggs for the wedding, and we ran out of paprika. Do you have any?"

"Just a minute, let me ask Wally." The aunt said as she got up and entered the cabin. Curious, Hay followed.

"Wally?" she asked. Aunt Gloria smiled, and continued traveling towards the stairs.

"Wally?" she called, "Will you help me find something?"

"Sure, Ms. Gloria. Just give me a minute." A male voice floated back down the stairs. Gloria finally answered Hay's questioning look.

"I'm renting a bed in my loft. His name is Wally West."

_Wally West,_ Hay mused as she sat back down_, where have I heard that name before…?_

"Hello…?" There was a hand waving in front of her face, and-breaking her concentration- the hand's owner came into view.

Red hair… Green eyes… Faded freckles…

"_Holy crap!" _Hay said as she remembered where she had heard that name before. And then she fell out of the chair.

* * *

**Earlier that week…**

The_Dragon_Lady: This can't be a coincidence.  
comicbookFAN78: I agree, Lady. Either we have a MASSIVE crazy geek on our hands…  
The_Dragon_Lady: Or we have alternate universe travelers.  
comicbookFAN78: Do you think there will be more?  
The_Dragon_Lady: Perhaps. Perhaps not. It depends on which uni.  
XspitfireXFOREVAHX: Hey guys! Whatcha talkin bout?  
The_Dragon_Lady: Look up the new red-and-yellow hero.  
XspitfireXFOREVAHX:… Oh. My. GASH!  
XspitfireXFOREVAHX: Is it… Him?  
The_Dragon_Lady: It looks like it.  
XspitfireXFOREVAHX:… What do we do?  
The_Dragon_Lady: …I don't know.

**This... is... I don't know. My fangirliness manifesting into my writing...? It's just kind of running away...** **I'll update soon, though! School just started today, so it's gonna get harder.**

**Oh, and to G:**

**Bwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ! *wipes tear* Nice... The mental images... *continues laughing.***

**Another note: HOLY CRAP! I HAVE 51 REVIEWS! TAKE THAT ABBY! *Happy dance* AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Anyway... Happy reading!**

**-Hay**


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